Hip pain involves any pain in or around the hip joint. You may not feel pain from your hip directly over the hip area. You may feel it in your groin or pain in your thigh or knee.
Causes
Hip pain may be caused by problems in the bones or cartilage of your hip, including:
- Hip fractures — can cause sudden and acute hip pain. These injuries can be serious and lead to major problems. More common as people get older because falls are more likely and your bones become weaker.
- Infection in the bones or joints.
- Osteonecrosis of the hip (necrosis from loss of blood supply to the bone).
- Arthritis — often felt in the front part of the thigh or groin.
- Labral tear of the hip.
- Femoral acetabular impingement — abnormal growth around your hip that is a precursor to hip arthritis. It can cause pain with movement and exercises.
- Pain in or around the hip may also be caused by problems such as:
- Bursitis — pain when getting up from a chair, walking, climbing stairs, and driving
- Hamstring strain
- Iliotibial band syndrome
- Hip flexor strain
- Hip impingement syndrome
- Groin strain
- Snapping hip syndrome
- Pain you feel in the hip may reflect a problem in your back, rather than in the hip itself.
What to Expect at Your Office Visit
Your provider will perform a physical exam with careful attention to your hips, thighs, back, and the way you walk. To help diagnose the cause of the problem, your provider will ask questions about:
- Where you feel the pain
- When and how the pain started
- Things that make the pain worse
- What you have done to relieve the pain
- Your ability to walk and support weight
- Other medical problems you have
- Medicines you take
You may need x-rays of your hip or an MRI scan.
Your provider may tell you to take a higher dose of over-the-counter medicine. You may also need a prescription anti-inflammatory medicine.
